photo courtesy of project publicity inc.
Name: Hector Fonseca
Age 29
Occupation DJ, Remixer, Producer, Songwriter
Not many DJs were models in their past lives, save for Hector Fonseca. The six-foot-three Puerto Rican from New Jersey veered down the catwalk in his late teens only to remix his career with a venture into music.
“I was on hold for a Calvin Klein campaign and didn’t get it. To come that close and not get it was the final straw. That’s when I quit,” says Fonseca.
Music afforded the 29-year-old things modeling couldn’t: Better cash, career control and creativity. And the odd psycho fan.
“Early in my career I had a stalker. She really freaked me out. I was really cautious about fans for a while after that, but I’m more comfortable with meeting people now.”
His latest effort, New York Club Anthems Vol. 2 (available on Grammy-winning producer Peter Rauhofer’s Star 69 Records label), sees his talents shine not only as a remixer, but also as a producer and songwriter. The compilation CD features a heavyweight collaboration with fellow club names Suzanne Palmer, Starkillers, Offer Nissim and, of course, Rauhofer.
Plugging the CD has so far taken Fonseca on a whirlwind world tour with gigs in Montreal, Mexico City, Tel Aviv, Sao Paulo, Sweden Miami, New York and Boston.
“I flew over 100,000 miles this year,” notes Fonseca. His latest stop is Toronto this Saturday at Fly Nightclub. “Canada is my second most travelled country.
I love playing for Canucks. They’re passionate about nightlife and dance music.”
Burnout isn’t an issue so far, but then again he’s only been at it for seven years and can work late into the night in the comfort of his own home studio.
Fonseca’s sound is a lustfully charged fusion of electro and tribal house, something he calls electribal. It’s a sound he helped pioneer years ago, which other DJs have since caught onto. “The younger generation prefers electro and the older generation prefers tribal so mixing the two is me trying to bring the two generations together,” he says.
His sound has also caught on with big name artists including Beyoncé Knowles, Missy Elliott and Kelly Rowland, who have asked him to remix songs for them. Many of his tracks have also hit the Top 10 Billboard dance charts.
“My music is liked by gay, straight, transgender, bisexual and metrosexuals alike. I’m proud of that because I feel the future is not about fitting into a label. There is no reason why we can’t all party together.”
New York Club Anthems Vol. 2 is available at www.star69records.com. For more facts on Fonseca, visit www.hectorfonseca.com.
An award-winning and multi-faceted media personality, Lawrence’s career spans journalism, television (hosting, acting, producing) and public relations (event management, publicity). Log onto lawrence-chau.com for more buzz.
